NINETEEN TRUTHS TO REMEMBER

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.
2. If you worry, you didn’t pray. If you pray, don’t worry.
3. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.
4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still. So He can untangle the knot.
6. Do the math. Count your blessings.
7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
8. Dear God: I have a problem. It’s me.
9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.
10. Laugh every day, it’s like inner jogging.
11. The most important things in your home are the people.
12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.
14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life moves too fast,
so enjoy your precious moments.
17. Nothing is _real_ to you until _you_ experience it, otherwise it’s just hearsay.
18. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you’re seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.
19. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.
Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They
had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often
sit together and admire the great works of art..
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was
notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas,
There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a
large package in his hands..
He said, ‘Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your
son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to
safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly… He
often talked about you, and your love for art.’ The young man held out this
package. ‘I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think
your son would have wanted you to have this.’
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the
young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the
personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes
that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered
to pay him for the picture.. ‘Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son
did for me. It’s a gift.’
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors
came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he
showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of
his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the
great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their
collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded
his gavel. ‘We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will
bid for this picture?’
There was silence…
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, ‘We want to see the
famous paintings. Skip this one.’
But the auctioneer persisted. ‘Will somebody bid for this painting?
Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?’
Another voice angrily. ‘We didn’t come to see this painting. We came
to see the Van Gogh’s, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!’
But still the auctioneer continued. ‘The son! The son! Who’ll take
the son?’
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the
longtime gardener of the man and his son. ‘I’ll give $10 for the
painting…’ Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
‘We have $10, who will bid $20?’
‘Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.’
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the
son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. ‘Going once, twice, SOLD for
$10!’
A man sitting on the second row shouted, ‘Now let’s get on with the
collection!’
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. ‘I’m sorry, the auction is
over.’
‘What about the paintings?’
‘I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told
of a secret stipulation in the will… I was not allowed to reveal that
stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate,
including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!’
God gave His son over 2,000 years ago to die on the Cross. Much like
the auctioneer, His message today is: ‘The Son, the Son, who’ll take the
Son?’
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO
EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE…THAT’S LOVE

A friend of mine opened
his wife’s underwear
drawer and picked up a
silk paper wrapped
package:
‘This, - he said - isn’t any ordinary package.’
He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

‘She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She
has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.

Well, I guess this is it.

He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he
was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said:

‘Never save something for a special occasion.

Every day in your life is a special occasion’.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less.

I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to,
not survived through.

I no longer keep anything.

I use crystal glasses every day…

I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I
want to.

T he words ‘Someday….’ and ‘ One Day…’ are fading away from my
dictionary.
;
If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it
now….

I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she
wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell..

I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.

I’d like to think she would go ou t for Chinese, her favourite food.

It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time
had come..

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one..

Romans 5:3 instructs us to “rejoice in our suffering” because it is for our growth and development. Pain prepares us for triumph. I am reminded of a fable that illustrates this perfectly.

The sunshine and the rain were engaged in a conversation one day when out of nowhere, the sunshine made a crude remark.

“You know, you really cause of a lot of trouble.”

“What do you mean?” the rain asked in bewilderment.

“You cause accidents, ruin picnics, spoil trips to the beach…the list on. But look at those people down there basking in my splendor. You know, the world would be a much better place without you,” the sunshine accused.

“I seriously doubt that,” the rain said in defense.

“Then give me one good reason why it wouldn’t,” the sunshine challenged.

“Well, for one, I take away the pollution of the air, filling it with moisture and freshness in which the world breathes.”

“Give me another one,” the sunshine challenged again.

“Do you see those beautiful flowers over there?” the rain asked.

“Yes,” the sunshine huffed.

“Well, I water the soil in which they are planted. I nurture the beauty of the world that you admire.”

“Go on, go on,” the sunshine urged.

“I replenish the rivers, the lakes, the oceans, and the seas so that the essential element of life may be bountiful and plenteous. I give life to the fish of the sea. Look at the various trees standing throughout the land. I protect them from being consumed by fire so they can fight diseases in the lower atmosphere. I nourish the soil in which they are planted, too. And in return, trees exhale pure oxygen into the air…the air in the sky in which so freely fly. Were it not for me, the fowl of the air would be extinct. And aren’t those shady green pastures just lovely? Well, I nurture the ground the ground in which they sit. So, were it not for me, those animals you see down there grazing in the meadows would surely cease to exist. And what about the crops of the field? Were it not for me, they would dry up and wither away and there would never be any harvest to reap, causing starvation to be prevalent in the land. You see, my friend, I ensure the existence of virtually all things. Were it not for me, there wouldn’t be air to breathe, food to eat, or water to drink. So while I may not be favored by the masses just because I cause temporary discomfort, I am quite essential to life. And you know what that means, don’t you?” the rain asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t,” the sunshine said with an attitude.

“It means that those people so-called basking in your splendor wouldn’t even appreciate you were it not for me.”

Exasperated and at a loss for words, the sunshine sighed and replied, “Well, you don’t have to rub it in!”

The discomfort caused by pain is actually for our growth and development. We may cry sometimes, but our tears do not fall on fallow ground. The shedding of our tears is a powerful phenomenon in and of itself. Our tears are symbolic of rain; they represent the showering of the air of our souls—the cleansing of our ailments and pain. Our tears represent the watering of the soil of our souls—the saturation of strength, faith, love, endurance, and peace. They also represent the replenishing of the sea of our souls—the flooding of wealth and prosperity. And the salt of our tears signifies the richness in which they flow. Finally, after the showering, watering, and replenishing, the rainbow of our soul appears and reveals its radiance; it lets us know that JOY IS ON ITS WAY!!

Verse of the Day: “In all things, God works for the good of those who love him.” - Romans 8:28
By D’edra Y. Armstrong

Psalm 91 is one that promises us protection from all that comes against us. It’s also one that mentions where we are safe, and that’s in the secret place. When we see the word “secret”, what comes to mind? For me, I think of “quiet” or “confidential”. Webster’s tells us that it means “hidden”, “concealed” or “something kept from the knowledge of others”. We all should have a place where we can go and be with the Lord, just you and him. A secret place. In this secret place you can tell him anything and everything, he will listen. He knows you better than you know yourself, and this place is truly where complete safety and refuge are evident. What is said and what goes on in the secret place is between you and the Lord, it’s confidential, hidden, and concealed.
Psalm 91:1-2, is one of my favorite scriptures. In the secret place is where he reveals himself and becomes more and more real to me. At times in this place, he shows and speaks to us things that are not meant to be told to anyone else. Let’s admit it; we have to learn that some things from him are meant to be kept from the knowledge of others. You don’t have to be going around telling folks everything that the Father told you. Also, this place is where we can find complete rest, peace, joy, protection, and trust in the Lord. Knowing all of this, we can always declare of the Lord, “He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, Hallelujah and I am trusting in Him.”
PRAYER: There is a place where we can go, free from all harm, a place where we can find complete refuge, a place where you are our fortress, and that’s in the secret place. Help us to go there more and more Lord, to experience those times of intimacy that can only be between you and your child. In your name we pray, Amen.
Verse of the Day: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him.“ Psalm 91:1-2 (NLT)

The Secret Place
By Brenda Gittens